Celebrating the 100 th Anniversary of the founding of their company, Martha Graham Dance Company (MGDC) returns for the first time since 2016, to UC Berkeley, February 14 & 15. MGDC has been a leader in the evolving art form of modern dance since its founding.  Graham, who revolutionized dance from the 1920’s onward, created 181 dance compositions during her storied career, so there is an abundance of works from which to choose.  For the centennial, the company is touring th

Feats of strength and daring, a 200-pound man flying atop his partner’s shoulders, and dancing dinosaurs, are just some of the treats on offer in Bear Graham’s “Dance Lovers 14” at the Joe Goode Annex this Valentine’s weekend.   I first discovered “Dance Lovers” in 2016 and haven’t missed one since! A heartfelt celebration of love and connection between two people, each year Graham presents a series of duets created and performed by “couples, crushes, and comrades.” “Dance Lo

The inflow of little girls in party dresses, their mothers and grandmothers swimming in their wakes, fills the Hofmann Theatre at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek, California for the lone matinee performance of choreographer Julia Adam’s brand-new The Little Mermaid (Mermaid). Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved tale, this one-act ballet tells the story of a water nymph who falls in love with a mortal. Given the familiarity of the songs and the overall popularity of

Attending MoToR/dance’s People Are You Ready  is what I imagine participating in a spiritual revival feels like for the faithful. Exiting the historic landmark Hillside Club in Berkeley after the hour-long performance, I feel uplifted, energized, and dare I say happy. Living in difficult and divisive times, bombarded daily with soul-crushing news and events, our individual efforts of resistance can feel meager and ineffective.  Now more than ever we thirst for solace, connect

Dance Brigade, the Bay Area's original feminist, political dance theater company, culminates its 50 th Anniversary Celebration Season with the premiere of Krissy Keefer’s Match Girrl  at Dance Mission Theater, with performances on weekends through February 1. It is an alt-musical-theater reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 fairytale,  The Little Match Girl, about a starving young match seller’s final night.  Hoping for warmth, the girl futilely burns her few remain

San Francisco’s own homegrown circus Circus Bella has, for the third year running, pitched its candy-striped big top tent in downtown San Francisco. Offering a respite from real world responsibilities, Circus Bella welcomes one and all into their dazzling world. STARLIGHT , their all-new Winter circus spectacular, offers an appealing mix of fresh acts and familiar faces.  The tricks are consistently thrilling and the clowning is so hilarious that STARLIGHT   left me with achi

Fill the snow-bags, hang the star-drop, fluff the tinsel, and steam the capes! It is time once more for Smuin Contemporary Ballet’s effervescent showcase,  The Christmas Ballet . Act I:  The Classical Christmas features a dozen contemporary and classical ballets.  Act 2: The Cool Christmas expands genres to include musical theater, tap, jazz, Irish Celtic dance and even a bit of hula.  The proceedings feel decidedly West Coast.  Designers Douglas Schmidt (Scenic), Sandra Wood

Contemporary dance in the Bay Area has a fresh and exciting contender in Tether Dance Project (Tether), co-directed by Tatianna Steiner, Ella Wright, and Teo Lin-Bianco, a trio of recent UC Berkeley graduates.  Recognizing the hard-realities of limited space and financial resources, compounded by the diminished arts funding, these enterprising artists launched Tether to support young and upcoming artists.  Their first production Flux & Form  at the Joe Goode Annex November 14

Free dance in a sublime open-air setting, on a perfect fall morning, is literally what dreams are made of, if you are me.    As I cross the wooden entry bridge into Golden Gate Park’s Japanese Tea Garden, my senses are enlivened. I am here, on this first Tuesday in November for the 10:15 a.m. showing of Sharp and Fine’s Stories and Dreams .  I am curious to see what working in an outdoor public space with a shortened development phase has inspired from Co-Directors Megan and

Recalling the close proximity, quality, and urgency of the dancers’ movements, my body vibrates with possibility. Revelations rise as I...

FACT/SF’s Summer Dance Festival  brings together an array of contemporary dance works by choreographers from the Bay Area and beyond. The...

ODC Theater’s annual State of Play (SOP) festival offers Bay Area a snapshot of the contemporary performance field. Arriving in the...

The loss of a loved one is an utterly personal and yet universal experience.  With Heart String , a reflection on Grief + Love + Death ,...

The Sunday, May 5th 5 p.m. performance by Alonzo King LINES Ballet at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco blew my socks...

Following the listed address for the Woodside Performing Arts Center, my GPS sends me to a gated mansion, but with persistence I find it...

The social safety net is being torn asunder.  The courts, the schools, the labs, the libraries, and the centers for art are being...

The Queering Dance Festival returns to Counterpulse March 27 -29 with eight Bay Area LBGTQ+ artists across two programs as part of...

One of the most revered international performance groups, the Batsheva Dance Company, is making its long-awaited Cal Performances debut...

“Ten world premieres, by our dancers, on our dancers!” Amy Seiwert, Artistic Director of Smuin Contemporary Ballet, enthused in her...

“Quintessentially Tharpian” is what I would have titled the Twyla Tharp Dance program, presented February 9 - 11 in Berkeley by CAL...